OMAHA, Neb. — Tanner Leggett emerged as an unlikely hero for the Mississippi State baseball team on Saturday night at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

Leggett’s walk-off single gave the No. 7 Bulldogs (48-17) a 4-3 win over No. 2 Texas at TD Ameritrade Park, sending MSU to the best-of-three CWS final against Vanderbilt.

Game 1 will be at 6 p.m. Monday, Game 2 will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, and Game 3 (if necessary) will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

“Playing Vanderbilt, one of the top if not the top program in college baseball the last five years, we have to go against the best and that’s the way we want it,” Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis said.

MSU last made the CWS final in 2013, losing in two games to UCLA. The Bulldogs have never won a national championship in baseball or any sport.

“It would mean everything — to us, to the program, to the school, to the city of Starkville,” closer Landon Sims said. “It would mean the world, and I think we’ve got a really good shot to do it right here.”

Mississippi State made up for plenty of missed opportunities when Leggett’s liner found a hole in left center field in the bottom of the ninth, sending Skinner home from second.

Sims kept Texas at bay for the final three innings to keep the contest tied 3-3 before designated hitter Kellum Clark was hit by a pitch and replaced by Skinner, who stole second. Leggett drove Skinner home with the winning run.

Catcher Logan Tanner tied the game on a double in the bottom of the sixth, but the Bulldogs went on to strand the bases loaded with a forceout at the plate and two straight strikeouts.

Texas’ Cam Williams hit a two-run home run in the second inning to put the Longhorns up 2-0.

Mississippi State right fielder Tanner Allen cut into the lead with an RBI single in the third.

Mike Antico doubled home a run for Texas in the fifth, making it a 3-1 game.

The Bulldogs got another run back when Lane Forsythe rolled into a double play with men on the corners and nobody out in the bottom of the fifth.

Mississippi State beat VCU, Campbell and Samford in the Starkville Regional before taking two of three games from Notre Dame in Super Regionals. On Saturday, they faced elimination for the second time this season and won again with their backs against the wall.

“It’s never been easy for us,” Lemonis said. “Even with all the success we’ve had, it’s always a grind.”

The Bulldogs beat Texas and Virginia in their first two games and lost to the Longhorns on Friday night before winning Saturday.

Now, they’ll have just one day of rest before facing the Commodores (48-16) with a national title on the line.

“We’ll enjoy this game over the next 12 hours, but when we wake up tomorrow morning, we’ve got to be ready to go,” Lemonis said.

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.